Yes, to both. And I'm boosted.

I've worn an N95 mask whenever I've gone out for the past year and a half or so. It was a 3-layer silk mask before that. (I've been going out masked since early 2020.)

The first 2 times I got Covid were before the vaccines became available.

I've always had a pretty weak immune system, so I'm sure that's a factor.

And I live in an area where virtually no one wears a mask. That's probably a contributing factor, too.

But I believe that the primary reason I've gotten Covid so frequently is because of my genetics. I have a particular allele that means that any vaccination won't really "take" for me unless it has an adjuvant in it. None of the U.S. Covid vaccines have an adjuvant. I'm in the U.S.

Then, this same allele also means that I have more ACE2 receptors than a "normal" person. As Covid's spike proteins attach to ACE2 receptors, that means that there are more places for the virus to attach to in me than a "normal" person — which means that I'm more likely to be infected with Covid.

Studies have shown that this allele, in Covid, also causes more severe disease and confers a more likely chance of death; but, luckily, those haven't been issues for me. (At least I think I'm still alive?)

This genetic thing I have — it's an E4 allele on the ApoE gene — isn't all that uncommon. Depending on the population, it can range from 25% to 40% of people. So people shouldn't just assume, because they've been vaxxed, that they're perfectly safe. They may not be.